The present invention deals with otterboards which are used in trawling operations.
Otterboards serve two main purposes, they keep the nets on the bottom of the sea bed and they are kept skewed slightly outwardly as they are towed so as to keep the net open when trawling. Typically, otterboards weigh about 1400 to 1500 pounds and a "channel shoe" up to approximately nine inches thick is welded to the bottom portion of the otterboard.
The channel shoe is usually made from a tough manganese type steel so as to withstand the abrasive sea bottom encountered when trawling.